THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Ringham Reports On 



Progress of I. A. C. A. 



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225 Members Now Secure Audits On 

 Co-operative Basis At Cost 



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SIXTY out of 95 County Farm Bu- 

 reaus are now members of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Co-operatives Asso- 

 cfation, and total membership in the 

 Association is now 225," states Man- 

 ager Fred E. Ringham. 



Six new Farm Bu- 

 reaus subscribed for 

 the service within 

 the past few months. 

 "W e are recom- 

 mending that each 

 Farm Bureau adopt 

 a budget, stick to it, 

 and provide each 

 year a reserve," 

 stated Ringham. 



The Wallace ^^„„. ^ 

 Grain and Supply F'-«« E. Rmgham 

 Company of Ottawa recently used the 

 audit service of the Co-operatives As- 

 sociation. It appointed an auditing 

 committee to investigate various audit 

 services. It interviewed Farmers' Ele- 

 vators at McNabb and Serena, and the 

 LaSalle County Farm Bureau, and all 

 recommended the I. A. C. A. 



The Company secured a complete 

 and detailed audit. The preliminary 

 report indicated that the Company did 

 more than $629,000 worth of business 

 in 1928. The gross income amounted 

 to over $90,000 and the net income 

 was more than $15,000. It has capital 

 stock of $27,100 and surplus and un- 

 divided profits of $150,000. This Com- 

 pany is one of the strongest in Illinois. 

 Henry A. Bonges is its able manager. 



During the first three months in 

 1929 the Illinois Agricultural Co-oper- 

 atives Association audited 104 accounts 

 as compared with 96 during the first 

 three months of 1928. There was an 

 appreciable decrease in the cost of 

 auditing Farmers' Elevator accounts 

 this year compared with last. This 

 was also true of the County Oil and 

 Supply Companies. The reason for 

 this increase in efficiency, according to 

 Ringham, is first, that better records 

 are being kept, and second, that re- 

 peat audits are invariably cheaper than 

 original audits. 



Eighty-five out of 88 audits taken in 

 January and February were as of De- 

 cember 31 closing. December and 

 January are the heaviest months for 

 audits. Many Farmers' Elevators dis- 

 like to change their present fiscal year 

 because they like to close their books 

 a short time before the annual meet- 

 ing, and annual meetings are usually 

 held in the late winter months when 

 it is possible to get out a larger crowds 

 The natural fiscal year for a grain ele- 

 vator is from April 30 to June 30. Ac- 

 cording to Ringham, if the same num- 

 ber of audits were made each month 

 throughout the year, the cost per audit 

 would be less because it would be pos- 

 sible to carry a smaller staff both in 



Pipe Line Proposed 



Thru Central 111. 



Farm Bureaus and I. \. A. Transp. 

 Dept. Represent Constituents 



TnE Texas Empire Pipe Line Com- 

 A pany, an Illinois corporation, pro- 

 poses to build a new pipe line to carry 

 crude oil from the southwest oil fields 

 through Illinois. The proposed line 

 will extend from a point on the Mis- 

 sissippi river northeast to a point in 

 Dewitt County. From Dewitt County, 

 a branch is to extend northeast to 

 Lockport in Will County. A second 

 branch is to go from Dewitt County 

 to Lawrenceville, near the Wabash 

 river. 



The Company already has applied 

 for a certificate of convenience and 

 necessity from the Illinois Commerce 

 Commission for building the line. Land 

 owners in Piatt County appealed to 

 the Farm Bureau for advice when they 

 objected to the route proposed through 

 that section and also to certain pro- 

 visions in the Company's contract. 

 The Company has not been arbitrary 

 however, but has indicated its willing- 

 ness to do whatever is reasonable. The 

 Transportation Department of the Illi- 

 nois Agricultural Association is inves- 

 tigating the situation and representing 

 Farm Bureau members along the pro- 

 posed route. 



Farmers in the affected counties are 

 being requested to submit proposi- 

 tions for changing and modifying the 

 route where such action seems ad- 

 visable. It is understood that the 

 Company's contract offers farmers 

 fifty cents a rod for perpetual ease- 

 ment to the land. The pipe line will 

 be laid below the frost line. The com- 

 pany agrees to stand for any and all 

 damage to tile, etc. resulting from the 

 construction of the line. Farmers, of 

 course, are interested in securing 

 proper protection for their lines -of 

 tile. Much of the land to be traversed 

 is tiled land and owners are concerned 

 about the tile being properly protected 

 where it is overlaid by a pipe line. 

 Farmers feel that the price offer for 

 giving the pipe line right of way 

 through their land is not just and 

 have appointed committees to make 

 an investigation as to the adequacy of 

 such an offer. The Illinois Agricultural 

 Association is preparing suggestions 

 and changes in the contract to protect 

 the interests and rights of Farm 

 Bureau member land owners. 



the field and in the office. Members 

 of the Co-operatives Association must 

 pay extra for the convenience of get- 

 ting an audit when they want it. An 

 organization like the I. A. C. A. must 

 have a permanent staff if its work is to 

 be efficient and administered by 

 capable, qualified men. 



Chicago Milk Station 



WC. McQueen, president, and D. 

 • N. Geyer, manager of the Pure 

 Milk Association, are meeting with a 

 committee of five Chicago milk distrib- 

 utors each Tuesday to discuss their 

 problems and cooperate in working out 

 the plan and program outlined by Arbi- 

 trator Clyde L. King of Philadelphia 

 some time ago. 



Prices for April and succeeding 

 months have been negotiated with dis- 

 tributors and are announced as fol- 

 lows: 



"The base price of $2.64 net to the 

 farmer will continue until changed in 

 conference, or by the arbitrator, and 

 will apply to basic milk under the fol- 

 lowing base and surplus arrangement: 



Bate Plan Used 



"Base months will be September, Oc- 

 tober, and November of 1928 and the 

 average production of each producer 

 during those months will be used as a 

 base during April, May, June and July. 

 One hundred and twenty per cent of 

 base will be allowed for April, 110 per 

 cent for May, 105 per cent for June, 

 and 120 per cent for July. All milk 

 delivered during August will be taken 

 at the base price. 



"Surplus milk will be paid for under 

 the following plan, using the average 

 monthly quotations in the Chicago mar- 

 ket for 92 score butter and to be fig- 

 ured in the following manner: 3% 

 times the 92 score butter price plus 20 

 per cent plus hi the difference between 

 that price and the basic price. Illus- 

 tration: Presuming butter quotations 

 to be 50 cents — 3V& times 50 equals 

 $1.75, plus 20 per cent '35 cents' 

 equals $2.10, plus Vi, the difference be- 

 tween $2.10 and $2.65 equals '55 cents 

 divided by four' which gives you 13% 

 cents to add to the $2.10 price, which 

 makes the price of surplus on a 50 

 cent butter market bring $2.23% per 

 cwt. 



New Patron* "& . 



"New patrons taken on since Feb- 

 ruary 1 to receive payment on a basis 

 of 50 per cent of their production as 

 basic and 50 per cent as surplus. 



"This price for the next few months 

 carries the producers through the sur- 

 plus season and has been worked out 

 with the hope that the surplus situa- 

 tion can be greatly corrected by the 

 dairyman himself working toward the 

 end of making a more even production 

 throughout the year and thereby tak- 

 ing advantage of the more even basic 

 price which continues through the sur- 

 plus months. The basic months of 

 September, October, and November 

 should be looked forward to by the 

 dairymen with a view to correcting any 

 inequalities that may now exist in the 

 way of monthly production." 



The farmers' elevator at Cerro 

 Gordo, Piatt County, has been in oper- 

 ation a little more than 25 years. T. J. 

 Shambaugh has been a director of the 

 company since it opened for business. 



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